Nicole Clark-Ramirez - Ramirez

Ramirez - A Poem

Nicole Clark-RamirezEmerson CollegeNicole
Clark-Ramirez' poem Ramirez raises questions of identity. It celebrates the
assertion of her Cubanity through the reclamation of her name. [Editor]

"I'm Spanish from Spain, my father's from Madrid!"I
used to say with pride,"And you're 99.9% Spanish," my father would
finish,(even though I'm only half).He changed his last name from Ramirez to Clarkwhen he came to America.But I knew that.

He told me stories about his childhood:an alligator and hunting
dogs for pets, the girls he wooed, la escuela with los curas wielding the rulers, the walk-in bird cage, the wars, the CIA, and the
cities he named or never named.

Why did he enjoy watching
documentaries about Cuba?Why did my mother buy him booksabout
Havana for Christmas?When I was 17, I asked my mother who I was.

My father was born in Havana.

I'm reclaiming my
name,taking back what my father gave up.This pen will print Ramirez
instead of Clark, and I'll take whatever Ramirez brings. I'll
change my birth certificate to represent la chica cubana, the woman I should have been.

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